SUBANG JAYA, April 12 — Jaleha Jali was frying cekodok, a traditional banana fritter dessert, on the morning of April 1 when she fled her house with her two grandchildren toward the riverbank.
The 68-year-old fell several times trying to keep pace with her grandchildren who ran ahead of her.
“I ran after I heard the first blast. My neighbours didn’t even have time to put on their slippers; fortunately I wear slippers in the house anyway so I ran with those,” said Jaleha when met at the Putra Heights Mosque temporary relief centre.
That morning, at approximately 8.10am, the Petronas gas pipeline near Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru exploded, sending a massive heatwave towards homes located between 100 and 600 metres away, reducing houses, vehicles and surroundings to ashes.
“We can’t salvage our house as even the bricks have turned to dust,” she said.
Jaleha is among the first generation of landowners who purchased plots to build their homes in Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru.
“When I moved here I had only one child, and we built everything ourselves, little by little,” she recalled.
“When my children started working, they gradually extended the house for me,” she added.
From rural settlement to sought-after neighborhood
Kampung Batu 13 in Puchong sits on government-owned land first developed around 1969, named for its distance in miles from the Kuala Lumpur city centre.
The area comprises five villages: Kampung Kenangan, Kampung Lama Batu 15, Kampung Tengah A, Kampung Tengah B and Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru.
Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru began as a squatter settlement on temporary occupation licence (TOL) land before its conversion to 99-year leasehold property.
Once characterised by swamps and frequent flooding from the Klang River, developments such as the Damansara–Puchong Highway transformed the area into a sought-after location.
According to Jaleha’s daughter, Hasrina Nordin, 39, villagers had opposed the development of shoplots near the gas pipeline.
“The kampung people objected to this project because right behind the shop-lots are the kampung houses; it’s a very small piece of land.
“We were not that mad initially, but they started taking up an access road that we use on a daily basis to work and to ferry our children to school” said Hasrina, who was born in the house destroyed by the fire.
A community no stranger to disaster
In 2021, massive floods struck Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru, with water reaching eye level.
Another flood in March 2022 saw water rise to waist height.
“[In] 2021, kampung residents here had to throw out all of their furniture, all along the road leading to Bukit Lancong you could see rotten furniture,” Jaleha recalled, adding that she also has yet to replace hers.
Since the pipeline fire, evening rain has been frequent, and residents fear floodwaters may damage what little remains.
“Most of our houses if they’re still standing, the roofs are gone. It has been raining and the rain water is destroying whatever that is left in the house,” Jaleha said.
Finding hope amid the ruins
Zurina Mohd Isa, 49, believes moving forward is the only option despite losing everything.
“If there’s one thing I wish for now as compensation, it’s time — to heal and process everything,” she said tearfully.
Her family lost their home, car, and motorcycle, though they had planned to put down a deposit for a new bike before receiving assistance.
They were among 55 families who received motorcycles from Spanco through the Transport Ministry, along with a rental car.
“Alhamdulillah, now we can use our savings for other essentials, and with the rental car and motorcycle, we can slowly rebuild what we’ve lost,” she said.
Zurina hopes the government will provide rental aid or housing support, noting that while Selangor authorities have offered temporary accommodation, her family needs a more stable solution.
“Our child is sitting for SPM this year, so we can’t take up the temporary housing offered by the state government as moving far just isn’t feasible,” she explained.
“We are looking for a permanent solution so that we can settle down and don’t have to worry about logistics of moving between houses.”
The pull of home: Why residents refuse to leave
Despite their hardships, most residents remain committed to staying.
According to Zurina, Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru’s central location provides convenient access to schools and nearby townships including Shah Alam, Subang Jaya and Puchong.
“All kampung residents send their children to SMK USJ 23 and Sekolah Kebangsaan USJ 20,” she noted.
“Even Putra Heights residents come here to buy fish at our market and enjoy breakfast in the village,” she added.
The area also now enjoys its own Light Rail Transit (LRT) station, enhancing connectivity.
When fire consumes all: Hari Raya turned to tragedy
For Nasir Hamid, the blast struck as he was celebrating the second day of Hari Raya with his family.
“It sounded like a jet had crashed,” said Nasir, whose home was built in the 1970s.
The heat was so intense that even metal objects were completely destroyed.
“My fridge melted into a layer of ‘silver’ on the ground. So did my other cookware that we use for a small side income food business,” he said.
Nasir, who once helped install the same gas pipeline, never imagined such devastation could occur.
“I was born in Kelantan but raised in the Sungai Besi Army Camp as my father served in the military,” he said, adding that he moved here with his family after his father retired.
While some residents could salvage remnants from their properties, Nasir found only ash.
United in recovery
As investigations proceed, Nasir expressed hope that those responsible would help affected residents.
“We have received part of the financial aid promised by the government, we’re just waiting on the authorities’ assessment on our damages…” he said, expressing gratitude for the assistance received.
Hasrina said they are also waiting for the government to assess their losses and provide adequate compensation.
“But if we don’t get what should be the rightful compensation, we will take legal action if there is a need for it, our lawyers are ready,” she said.
“The kampung residents are united in this decision.”
At the time of writing, technical investigation of the explosion site has yet to begin as authorities continue ground stabilisation work.
The gas pipeline fire affected a total of 437 houses in Putra Harmoni and Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru.